Plan someone's first week, not their first day
Onboarding is concentrated in day one, which is the day nobody retains anything.
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Why it lands
The first day is a blur of names, systems and being walked around; by day three the shepherd has gone back to their own work and the new person is alone with a login and no idea who to ask. Almost all the loneliness and most of the early mistakes happen in that second week, which nobody plans for because the official process has ended.
How
Put three short things in the calendar across the first fortnight — a coffee on day four, a walk-through on day eight, a check-in at three weeks. Say you are the stupid-questions person and mean it. Introduce them to one person outside their team.
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